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Projections: Dragonslayer skates a fine line

By JASON ANDERSON

Thu., Dec. 15, 2011

DRAGONSLAYER: A scrappy American doc that was a big prizewinner at the SXSW film fest and Hot Docs last spring, Dragonslayer returns to Toronto this week. Director Tristan Patterson provides an uncommonly bleak view of the world of professional sports. In this case, it’s the international pro skateboarding circuit as travelled by Josh “Skreech” Sandoval, an Orange County skate punk who often shows more interest in getting wasted than in competing.

Though Sandoval briefly alludes to a history of depression and the loss of his sponsors, the movie otherwise provides little context for the events we see here or any information about the subject’s own status in the sport. That makes Dragonslayer less of a sports doc than a moody portrait of a young man at the fringes of American society. Poor, homeless and unable (and maybe unwilling) to provide for the baby he just had with an ex-girlfriend, Sandoval is clearly in rough shape even if the film is frustratingly vague about the nature of his personal demons. Yet he also proves to be a surprisingly resilient and hopeful figure, which is all the more remarkable given that his diet seems to consist of cigarettes and half-orders of French fries.

Dragonslayer provides an uncommonly bleak view of the world of professional sports.

The soundtrack of punk and alt-rock songs by the likes of Best Coast and Thee Oh Sees adds to Dragonslayer’s grimy feel. It plays all week at the Royal (608 College St.).

FREE HOLIDAY SCREENINGS: Thanks to the bounty of free Christmas screenings, you have absolutely no excuse for any lapses in seasonal cheer. Indeed, you have not one but two chances to see It’s a Wonderful Life — Frank Capra’s timeless story of suicide attempts and socialist revolts plays Friday at 8 p.m. at the Toronto Underground Cinema (186 Spadina Ave.) and Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at the Fox Theatre (2236 Queen St. E.). Over at the Revue Cinema, the Roncesvalles BIA proudly sponsors free screenings of A Christmas Story on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Elf on Sunday at 2 p.m. Any displays of humbug will not be tolerated.

POLANSKI, GRACE, LIES + VON TRAPPS: December is a very busy time for TIFF Bell Lightbox. To coincide with the release of Roman Polanski’s new film Carnage, King West’s temple of cinema presents seven more movies by the controversial auteur in a series that starts Friday — critic Adam Nayman gives a talk on Polanski’s neo-noir masterpiece Chinatown after the screening on Sunday at 3 p.m. Having already feted her collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, the venue now serves up Grace Kelly’s films with other directors, including Fred Zinnemann in High Noon, which has the first of three screenings on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Then on Monday at 6:30 p.m., TIFF’s Canadian Open Vault series continues with a rare screening of Lies My Father Told Me, one of the best-loved Canadian movies of the ’70s. But if it’s the Von Trapps you’re really after, you’ll get what you crave from two special presentations of Singalong Sound of Music — the 1965 movie musical plays Friday at 7 p.m. and again on Dec. 30 at noon and 7 p.m.

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DIRECTOR Q&As: “How much did your movie cost?” and “Can you take a look at my script?” are just two of the questions you might hear when esteemed filmmakers make appearances at screenings this week. A British director who’s been in town making the latest entry in the Resident Evil franchise (starring his wife Milla Jovovich), Paul W.S. Anderson stops by the Toronto Underground Cinema on Saturday at 7 p.m. to discuss his creepy 1997 science-fiction thriller Event Horizon. Then on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Revue, Don Shebib attends a screening of Down the Road Again, his recent sequel to the 1970 Can-film classic Goin’ Down the Road.

UNDER FIRE: A new Canadian documentary that features candid interviews with reporters from New York Times, BBC, Reuters and more, Under Fire examines war’s psychological toll on journalists caught in the thick of the action. Writer-director Martyn Burke knows the subject well, having reported on the Vietnam War and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. His film starts a three-night run at the Revue on Monday at 7 p.m.

HOCKEY ON SCREEN: The best game you can name gets its own night out at the movies on Saturday when the Toronto Underground Cinema presents a benefit event for the Team Up Foundation, which works to benefit youth by providing sports programs and facilities. The Leafs-Canucks game hits the big screen at 7 p.m., followed at 10:30 p.m. by a 35 mm presentation of Slap Shot, the 1977 comedy that paired Paul Newman with the Hanson Brothers. Moviegoers might be wise to wear their mouth guards if they’re worried about losing a tooth.

FAMILY ANIMATION WORKSHOPS: Looking to have some offbeat family fun during the holiday break? The NFB Mediatheque at 150 John St. offers hands-on animation workshops between Dec. 27 and Jan. 8. Children aged 3 to 13 can take part in one of two daily workshops for only $5 per child (there’s no extra charge for adults) — 3D clay animation, paper cut out and pixillation are just three of the techniques that tykes can learn about. There are also free screenings at 2 p.m. on every day except for Jan. 1.

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